


Racing For The Future (just not mine)

by Poker



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Clay | Dream Needs a Hug (Video Blogging RPF), Dream is sane and feels very guilty, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Manhunt AU, Sad Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Time Travel Fix-It, Unreliable Narrator, he's trying his best
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-19 09:07:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29872341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Poker/pseuds/Poker
Summary: During a moment of sanity in Pandora's Box, Dream is dragged back in time. Just before the exile, before Doomsday, before Pandora's Box. Clearly, the best way to prevent all the hurt and pain is to complete the end mission and leave the server forever, right? Nobody will be looking for him and it'll be easy.(Back at home, his friends panic.)
Relationships: Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound & Darryl Noveschosch & Sapnap, Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 276





	1. Independent (but not free)

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! If the people involved in this fic ever express being uncomfortable with it, I will be taking it down. Otherwise, hope you enjoy!

Dream came awake with a gasp, rolling onto his hands and knees as his stomach twisted. He scrambled to pull his mask away from his face, gasping for air. He gagged, once, twice, but there was nothing left to throw up. Dream had gotten sick of potatoes a week in, and the heat made him nauseous. 

But that didn’t mean the pain of his stomach twisting in on itself didn’t hurt any less. He’d have to eat soon. But it seemed to take forever for his stomach to settle and Dream nearly sobbed as he could finally relax. He hated that feeling.

Slowly, Dream sat back, taking a deep breath as he glanced around. It looked like he was dreaming again. He hadn’t seen these stone walls since he had been thrown into his own prison. His lips twisted in a wry smile as he pulled his mask back down.

And didn’t that bring up a spike of hatred, as tired and useless as it was.

It wasn’t really his room, just a rarely used storage room within one of the DreamSMP buildings. He’d moved out here when staying in the Community House made working on his plans more difficult than it was worth (when George and Sapnap started to avoid him and he started avoiding them as well).

(When did his friends become an inconvenience that needed to be avoided?)

All it had was a lonely bed, rarely used, by the window with a chest beside it. Old papers were still scattered over his crafting table and there was even a precarious stack on the furnace next to that. Dream didn’t bother looking at any of them, instead standing and stretching. 

It was rare that he dreamed in Pandora’s Box, let alone a lucid dream like this. The heat from the lava and stomach cramps made his sleep fitful and light. When he dreamed, it was usually scattered fragments he didn’t remember when he woke up. But it was a welcome change all the same.

He placed a hand down, pushing himself to his feet. The stone beneath his hand was cold and Dream paused, his hand drifting over the wall. He savored the feeling of it. Nothing was cold inside his cell.

Cold.

Why did that feel important?

A starburst of pain in his hand and Dream jerked back with a muttered curse. Blood trickled from a scrape, a drop still left on a snag in the wall.

Dream went to wipe the blood away and froze. It hurt. Not the worst pain he’d ever felt, but it _hurt_. He stared at it in mute confusion.

Either he had smacked his hand against the wall while sleeping, or _this wasn’t a dream_.

“Open up the command screen.” Dream said, his voice hoarse. It felt like he had been swallowing rocks. He coughed, trying to clear it. “Show me my life count.”

He had lost two lives to Tommy, a number that had taunted him every time he had checked the counter. He had been too complacent when it came to that boy. Even as the admin of this server world, he had no ability to return what he had lost.

But now, there were three crimson hearts hovering in front of him, rising and falling with his breath. Dream let out a raspy laugh, hands reaching up to tangle in his hair as he slid back down the wall.

There was no way to fake that, for them to torment him like that. The others had always been too kind and not kind enough. Oh, we can’t torture the big bad Dream! That would make us bad guys! Let’s just toss him in an obsidian box and leave him to rot in almost complete solitude!

Dream ignored the niggling thought that reminded him he would have done the same, had he kept hold of his power. Instead, he pressed his palms against the cool surface of his mask, trying to piece his thoughts back together.

Had Pandora’s Vault just been a horrifying dream?

...it didn’t feel like one. It was too vivid. Too real. Dream curled farther into himself, twisting the thought over and over in his head. Because if that was real and this was real, then what was going on? He had heard about time travel glitches, had even noted a possible time traveler in his server (had threatened them into silence).

But he had to think logically here. He couldn’t let himself be consumed by panic, no matter how tight his chest felt or the way it felt like the translucency enchantment on his mask was flickering out, turning his vision dark.

_Calm. Think. Focus on anything else, anything other than the guilt and fear and hatred that dragged him down like a stone._

Time travel, like most ‘useful’ glitches, were a lot harder for admins to trigger than it was for non admin players. And definitely impossible to trigger inside of Pandora’s Box, blocked from any of his tools. He had considered the possibilities before Pandora’s Box and ultimately dismissed them, and he wasn’t a man who gave up power like that easily. 

At least then. Dream sighed, pushing himself back to his feet. He didn’t know what kind of person he was now. He just didn’t like to linger on that thought.

Right. Time travel is a likely possibility. But when was he and how did he get here? And what was he going to do?

Last he remembered, he had been sitting in his cell, trying to sleep. Dream combed a hand through his hair. “Maybe I spun the clock too much.” He said, smiling at his own joke.

At least the when part was easier. He had moved out soon after the revolution against Schlatt. Dream considered that after he pulled a water bottle from the chest, gulping it down greedily. The cool water tasted like the sweetest, most delicious thing he had ever had in his life. He let out a relieved sigh as the scratchy feeling in his throat slowly died away.

The apple he ate was even better. Dream was so tired of potatoes, he nearly cried at the sweet taste. 

He was never eating potatoes again, no matter what. He had no idea how Technoblade could still eat them after nearly a year in the Potato Wars. Two months of living on potatoes, and Dream was ready to burn any he saw.

Sipping the second bottle more slowly, he walked towards the open window. He leaned out, allowing himself a brief moment to enjoy the chilly breeze. It was dark outside but for the lanterns and torches keeping the monsters at bay. Too early for most of the early risers and too late for most of the night owls.

He had gotten a lot of work done before at this time of night.

Dream propped his chin up with his other hand, grinning at the sight. It looked like the others had been wrong when they said he would never see the outside world again. 

At that thought, his brief good mood deserted him again. Dream sighed, taking another sip. Several landmarks were missing. If this was time travel, he likely hopped back right before he had exiled Tommy.

Dream could… do a lot with that actually. Nebulous plans were already swirling in his head. He knew where he went wrong. He didn’t push hard enough sometimes, pushed too hard others. He could do it perfectly this time. Could stop Tommy’s escape, the revolt, _Pandora’s Box_...

The taste of salt and iron filled his mouth. He’d bit his lip so hard it bled.

“ _One big happy family._ ” Dream said. He shuddered a bit at the words and the wash of guilt that came over him.

It was all for his friends. At least, that had been his justification for it. And they hated him for it. They had all been miserable in their own ways, even when his plans went well. When he had been free, he could outrun his guilt. It was harder when he was trapped with nothing to do but think about how miserable everyone had been because of him.

Maybe Pandora’s Box would have restored his rage after enough time. He had vague plans then but now, Dream had no idea what he was supposed to do.

Dream had been a monster. Was still a monster. He tilted up his mask so he could wipe the blood off his lip.

He could… do it better this time? Be better. He considered the thought, tracing along the edges of his mask. Apologize to everyone, use words instead of threats, dismantle any of the plans he had running right now. Maybe even spend time with George and Sapnap.

Be the Dream from the beginning of the server, when they really were happy. All of them.

And he wanted that. He wanted it so bad. He wanted Bad to hug him, not out of manipulated pity, but because the demon cared. He wanted to curl up on the couch with George and Sapnap and sleep knowing they would be there for him. Dueling Techno, snowball fights with Tubbo and Tommy, baking with Puffy and Niki, even arguing with Wilbur. He wanted it all.

But he would have to lie and pretend he hadn’t manipulated each and every one of them. Pretend he couldn’t remember Sapnap swearing to kill him, George leaving, the fear on Tommy and Tubbo’s faces. That Wibur’s insanity and death was partially due to him. Everyone’s misery. All because of him.

Dream lowered the mask to cover his face, adjusting it so it was secure again. 

Wasn’t this a joke? He made a soft wheezing sound, pressing a hand over where his mouth would be. Wasn’t this just a fantastic joke? He was brought back to when he finally had power, had plans, and he didn’t want anything to do with it.

He had failed. He had been the villain in their story. Dream couldn’t lie and pretend that away. What was the choice he gave Tubbo? _Death or exile._ Dream pushed off the window, leaving the half-full bottle of water, heading back to the chest. 

It wouldn’t be hard to exile himself. He doubted anyone would really come look for him. He’d burned all his bridges. But he had to be sure about this. It was easy to just walk into the uncharted wilderness and not stop until he was so far, it would be nearly impossible to find his way back. But he couldn’t spend the rest of his life worrying they might come after him or that he would change his mind and go after them. 

If he left, it would have to be a total exile. Leaving the server. His fingers caught on a small catch at the bottom and Dream smiled bitterly, pulling it open.

It had been a pain to adjust the chest’s coding but it was worth it for a secure hiding space. In the very beginning of this server world, Dream had written keys into enchanted books for certain server functions that were locked. Just in case he or one of the others on the Dream Team needed to quickly unlock them in an emergency. But the books were pretty dangerous if they got out so the Dream Team had elected to hide them away.

After the first war of L’Manburg, Dream had taken them and hidden them in the chest, entertaining thoughts of using them in his plans. He never got the chance.

Did they find them after he was locked up? Grow angry at him for yet another betrayal of their trust? Dream squashed that thought, taking a deep breath and rifling through the neat stack of books. The tightness in his chest wasn’t going away.

Leaving servers was an easy task for most players, but it was a lot harder for an admin. Servers could and would restabilize without their admins, but the process was made as difficult as possible to prevent that from constantly occurring. The only way an admin could leave was through completing the last achievement, defeating the Ender Dragon.

Dream grinned. Something he had made a game out of.

Dream pulled out a black book, brushing his hand over the cover. The End’s key. With this, he could open the End Portal. He let the secret compartment’s door fall shut, standing again. The book disappeared into his inventory. His otherwise empty inventory.

Should he take his tools? Dream looked over the mess on the floor, finger tapping against his thigh. He’d miss his axe, but he had lived without it. And nothing could come with him when he left this server, unless he planned to sit down and plot the coding of the glitches that allowed inventory transfer. Still, he lingered over the rest of the chest for an embarrassing amount of time. Dream shut the chest, firmly telling himself it would be fine. 

The others would get more use out of his supplies than he could. Maybe it would count as repayment for the pain he had caused them.

He’d make a new axe in his next world. Maybe he could try out playing a solo Hardcore world. Philza had certainly enjoyed playing on those, so it may have some merit.

But he hesitated before standing. It didn’t feel like enough of an apology. Slowly, he opened the chest again, taking a quill and a book out.

There was so much he could write. So much to apologize for. But as he stared at the page, Dream couldn’t find the words.

Did he apologize for each and every action, a long itemized list? Did he tell them how much he loved them, how some days it took all he had to stay sane? Did he try to justify himself? Did he say what he was doing so they wouldn’t have to worry about him coming back? His head was spinning.

Right. Short and simple then.

_I’m so sorry for what I’ve done. Don’t worry about me anymore._

A moment.

_:)_

He could feel his eyes burning. It was a pathetic apology. He could almost hear Tommy screaming now. But if he tried to write anymore, he’d be here for another week trying to pour his heart onto the pages, and he didn’t have that time.

This would have to be enough. His exile could make up for the rest, hopefully. He left the journal and quill on top of the chest.

Dream stretched, walking towards the window. It was time to stop stalling. If he was going to go, it would have to be now. He wasn’t sure he would be able to get up the resolve again if he had to see everyone.

Dream hopped up on the windowsill, sitting for a moment. He took in the buildings for the last time, a heavy weight settling into his chest as he committed it to memory. This plan would go fine. He’d done this before, with hunters after him to boot.

And who would be hunting for him this time?

He closed his eyes and let himself fall, feeling the air rush by him. Hitting the ground lightly, he made a beeline straight to the woods. Better to avoid them all still. What he was about to do was technically against the laws of this server and Dream didn’t want to go back to prison. He smiled, a small, pained smile. 

The others would probably leap to put him back if they knew he was about to break the law again. But this plan was going to work.

It had to work.

Dream didn’t know what he would do if it didn’t.


	2. I'm sure if you asked them, they'd say they care about you

“I can’t believe he’d rather stay here than near us.” Sapnap huffed, glaring at the building like it had murdered his pet, burned down his house, and then stole his diamonds. “He didn’t even build a house, he just picked a faraway building and moved in. I mean, I can understand wanting space, but is it that hard for him to apologize and own up to us?”

It’s not that Dream hadn’t been smug and mysterious before, even towards them. But lately, Dream has been worrying Sapnap. Smug and mysterious about an expert survival strategy went to being smug and mysterious about _possibly helping blow up a country._

And whenever they tried to ask him about it, he disappeared and it was starting to get on Sapnap’s last nerve.

Which was why he had agreed to wake up far too early so they could catch Dream while he was still tired and help shake the answers out of their friend. And possibly force him into therapy to get him to chill again. Early mornings sucked.

“I’m just saying, he could just-”

“Sapnap, shut up.”

“What the hell? I was talking!” But even as he said it, Sapnap already had one hand to his bow, scanning the area. “There’s nothing there.”

“Exactly.” George said. “Then why is Dream’s window open?”

“Huh?” Sapnap said, glancing up. One of the windows had been left open. “Probably because he’s avoiding us again and ran off when he saw us coming. Easy. Mystery solved. I’ve cracked the case.”

“Something's off about all of this.” George said, looking pensive and annoyed. “I’ve had a bad feeling all morning. Dream’s too paranoid to leave one of his windows open if he isn’t there.”

“I’m telling you, he probably ran off and just left it like this expecting us to clean up after him.” Sapnap said, a bit bitter. But it was true, he had been feeling off since the moment he woke up. Something was different, but he couldn’t find what.

George rolled his eyes, stomping towards the house. Sapnap winced at the creaking door, half expecting Dream to leap out of nowhere to scare them.

He’d honestly prefer that teakettle wheeze and mockery over the eerie silence. Dream had always been minimalistic, but the building was straight up barren of any decorations. If he didn’t know Dream lived here, he never would have guessed it.

Sapnap was jolted out of his thoughts by the bang of a door hitting the wall upstairs. George hadn’t bothered to look around, heading straight for Dream’s room.

“Dream’s gonna make you fix that.” Sapnap yelled, taking the stairs two at a time. “And I’m gonna watch and laugh.”

Silence. Sapnap hopped up the last three, trying to look casual as he sauntered up to the open door. But the silence was starting to get to him, his right hand not leaving the sword at his side.

“He’s not.” George suddenly said, voice dull. “He’s gone.”

“What?” Sapnap said, his voice jumping three octaves. He stepped in the room, frantically looking around. It was a mess, various tools and supplies scattered over the floor. In the mess, he could see Nightmare. Dream would have never left his axe willingly. “Who the End managed to kidnap _Dream_.”

“Not a kidnapping.” Sapnap glanced down to see his friend kneeling by an open chest, his face blank. There were enchanted books in his hands. The server books? Shouldn’t those be in their hiding spot?

Then again, it was Dream. Trust the guy to be so paranoid that he would keep them with him. Sapnap pretended that thought didn’t sting.

“Well, if it isn’t a kidnapping, then what is it?” Sapnap gestured at the room with his free hand. “We would have gotten the announcement if someone managed to off him.”

George’s face was still scarily blank. “Not a kidnapping.” He said. “He’s leaving.”

“What, moving back home?” Sapnap asked. He couldn’t say he was against the thought, even with how erratically and power hungry Dream had been acting. Moving back might mean Dream was starting to return to his old self.

George gave him the ‘think for a moment’ look. Sapnap raised an eyebrow. Whatever clue George had found, he couldn’t see it. George sighed, blankness cracking to reveal worry. “The End book is gone.” He gestured around them. “If Dream was chasing after a thief, he would have taken his tools. If he was kidnapped, why take the End book as well? No one but the Dream Team knows about the books.”

“Why would he leave? Dream loves this world.” It had been the only thing carrying Sapnap through the ending stage of the Manburg and Pogtopia war. Dream had been cold and nasty, but at least he knew there was still love there. A glimmer of normalcy. 

And if he loved this world, he must still care for George and Sapnap. The world had been made with them in mind.

And if he was leaving…

Sapnap’s hand tightened on his sword’s hilt. Then he really didn’t know what they were supposed to do.

“I don’t know.” George said, staring at the mess. “But I don’t like this.”

“I say we leave him to it.” Sapnap says, angling away so he couldn’t see the mess. “If he wants to ditch us so badly, then good riddance. I’m not going to be playing this game anymore. He has enough power in this world already.”

“So, you are really okay with this?” George says with that stupid knowing look on his face. “Never getting answers or getting to smack some sense back into his head?”

“And you aren’t?”

“I’m just saying. This may not be a kidnapping, but this doesn’t seem like Dream. You said it yourself, he has power. Why leave?” He held up a book. “And why apologize?”

“Did you seriously keep that for a dramatic moment?” Sapnap said, lunging for the book.

He didn’t know what he was hoping for. Dream finally admitting what he had done? A letter saying that he always cared for them and never stopped? A note saying he would be back soon?

But there were just two lines. Bleak and empty. Two sentences and Dream’s signature smiley face. Sapnap let out a soft sound, hands starting to tremble.

He had no clue why Dream hated signing his name and used a smiley face instead. Dream had always laughed when he tried asking and gave a silly excuse that changed every time. And now he would never find out.

Sapnap saw a water droplet hit the page. Then another. George gently tugged the book out of his grasp, folding him into a hug.

“That’s not fair.” Sapnap hissed into George’s ear. “That bastard should be apologizing to my face. How dare he finally apologize in a note after leaving.”

Leave them with just a short note, an apology that stopped just short of saying his friend was never coming home. And a little smiley face like that was supposed to be okay with them. They were supposed to let this happen, let him go forever. Just after a glimmer of hope that their friend was back, and the crazed power hungry man Sapnap kept glimpsing was gone.

“Don’t worry? Don’t worry?” Sapnap hissed, his voice raising. “Oh yeah, I just won’t worry that one of my best friends is leaving forever and I’ll never see him again!”

“Calm down. Breathe.” George said, pressing his forehead to Sapnap’s. It was awkward with George’s goggles, but Sapnap couldn’t find it in himself to care. Sapnap took a shaky few breaths, feeling something loosen in his chest. “There we go.”

“We would have gone with him if he just asked.” Sapnap said, his chest feeling tight. He had loved this world but it wasn’t home without all of them. Hadn’t been home for a long time. “We asked him if he wanted to go before and he said no!”

Dream laughed and told them that he was never going to leave. And he lied.

“Yeah.” George said. “He did do that.”

“How are you not angry?” Sapnap said, trying to blink the tears away and failing. Angry that George just didn’t care, that he could stand there while Sapnap just broke down crying over two sentences. “He’s gone.”

“I’m furious.” George said, almost conversationally. But his face was pained. “I’ll be having a very long talk with him about this and how stupid it was. And how I better be getting a hug for having to deal with his latest leap of stupidity.”

“How?” Sapnap giggled hysterically, tears still streaming down. How could George just say that? “He’s gone! Bastard basically said he’s never coming back.”

“Because last I checked.” George said. “Dream hasn’t won every manhunt game we’ve played. And I don’t know about you but I still have my compass in my ender chest. I’ll be getting those answers if I have to track him to the End and drag him back myself.”

And oh-

Oh.

Sapnap had forgotten they could do that.

Sapnap let out a hysterical laugh. “That bastard’s not going to know what hit him.” He said. “I still have my compass too.”

Mementos, Dream had called them. 

“And I think Bad does as well.” George said. “Come on. I know this is hard but the sooner we pick him and Antfrost up, the sooner we can all hit the road.”

“I’ll beat you there.” Sapnap said, smirking. In one quick move, he shoved George to the ground before sprinting for the stairs. Throwing the door shut behind him, he was halfway down before George yelled.

The cool morning breeze felt good as Sapnap sprinted down the road, drying his tears and cooling the fire burning in his chest. It felt good to be doing something, to have some sort of plan.

They were going to find Dream and he was going to punch him and then hug him and ask him what the hell he was doing.

He could hear the scuff of shoes on wood as George sprinted after him. If he closed his eyes, he could almost hear a third set of footsteps and a familiar laugh. Sapnap shoved that thought away.

But it didn’t matter, his trick had gotten him a strong lead. Sapnap didn’t even bother knocking, slamming into the door and making it creak on its hinges. “HEY BAD! GET THE COMPASS, WE’RE GOING ON A MANHUNT.”

“What are you doing, you muffin?” Came from inside the house. Sapnap laughed, coughing as George came up behind him and elbowed him in the side. There was a click and the door swung open, Bad blinking sleepily in the early morning sunlight. “Manhunt? Did Dream organize one? I thought he cancelled those while he worked on the server.”

And End, that had sucked finding out about the cancellation. Sapnap missed when the most he had to worry about was Dream winning.

That was really the beginning of the end. Dream was more reclusive afterwards, more vicious. Sometimes, Sapnap wondered if he had cancelled it because he was busy, or because Dream was worried about seriously hurting them to win.

“In a sense.” George said slowly. Sapnap bounced on his toes as George passed over the journal. Back in the sunlight, George looked tired and worried. Nightmare was strapped onto George’s back, he must have paused to grab it. There was a scuffle of gravel behind them. “He left this and took the End book.”

Bad frowned, looking at the note. “I was going to say maybe we should leave him to it.” He started.

“Are you kidding me, Bad?” Sapnap interrupted, snapping to attention. This could be their last chance to keep the team together. He had been against it at first, but there was something blaring at the back of his mind saying _no go find him don’t leave him alone_.“You’d just let him go?”

This was the closest they had gotten to getting through to Dream since the beginning of L’Manburg.

Bad raised a hand. “If that’s what he wants, we can’t stop him.” Bad scolded. “The problem is, it doesn’t seem like something Dream would want. Either version I know.”

“You think so too, huh?” George said, leaning against Sapnap. Sapnap pressed into the touch, listening.

“We ruled out kidnapping.” Sapnap reminded him. Another crunch of gravel. He was right, someone had gotten curious. He turned around. “You guys have something to say?”

“We did.” George said. He turned as well. “Good, all in one place.”

Tubbo and Tommy looked like they had been caught with their hands in the cookie jar. “We saw you sprinting by and got worried.” Tubbo said. Tactfully leaving out that they were technically enemies right now.

“If you dumbasses” “Language!” “Fuck you” “Language!” “Ugh. Are going to talk in broad daylight, then I don’t see why we can’t eavesdrop.” Tommy said, looking almost smug.

Sapnap stepped forward, his temper about to explode. George put an arm out in front of him. “No, that’s fine. I was meaning to track you down. You see, I was going to say if L’Manburg had any part in this, you could say goodbye to any chance of rebuilding. Dream may be the villain sometimes, but he is my friend too.”

“Woo! Burning stuff!” Sapnap cheered. He hope his conflict didn’t show on his face. He really didn’t want to hurt them, knew Dream had hurt them. But he was also ready to shake some answers out of Dream and go back to actual peace. 

The implied threat must have worked because the two teenagers took a step back.

“Not on my front porch.” Bad scolded. “Badlands are neutral.”

“Then I’ll leave it at that.” George said. “Can we come inside? Like Tommy said, anyone can eavesdrop out here and I need an Ender chest.”

“Wait!” Sapnap turned. Tubbo paused at the look on his face before forging onwards. “Is Dream okay?”

“Don’t see why you care.” Sapnap said hotly. Now that George had brought up the possibility, he couldn’t get out of his head. And it was easier to be angry than to show how afraid and confused he really was. 

Was Tubbo and Tommy capable of this? His heart said no but his mind reminded him he wouldn’t have thought Dream to be capable of war and cruelty either.

“We were friends once.” Tubbo reminded them. He elbowed Tommy when it looked like the other was about to disagree. “And I'm tired of being enemies. If there’s anything we can do to help, just message. I want him to be okay.”

“We’ll keep that in mind.” George said.

Sapnap sent the boys one last look before following George inside. “You really think they had something to do with it?” He said, closing the door with a firm click. They were probably going to eavesdrop anyways, Sapnap would have done the same at their age.

“I don’t know.” George said, glancing at Bad. “But a lot of things aren’t lining up. Dream doesn’t just run away from his problems. Let alone plan to leave his own server without telling anyone. And why leave all of his equipment behind?”

Especially when the man didn’t care about any of the problems. “You think someone set this up.” Sapnap said. He folded his arms, pacing across the floor. George disappeared through another door. “Why wouldn’t he come to us? We’re his friends.”

“The little muffinhead has been avoiding everyone lately.” Bad said, looking up from his communicator. “I thought he needed space. And, well, I kinda needed space too, you know?”

“Yeah.” Sapnap mumbled. The latest war had been a lot to deal with. He enjoyed explosives but some nights, he lied awake, unable to sleep with the sound of screaming in his ears. “Yeah, I can understand that.”

“Ditto.” George said, ducking back in. There was a familiar compass in his hands. Sapnap stared at it, watching it gently reorient as George moved. That was good. Dream hadn’t hopped into a nether portal, or-

He didn’t like to think about the other option. Everything was fine. He could deal wth this and get his answers when they caught Dream.

There was a cheerful ding from Bad’s communicator, interrupting the somber silence. “Ant said he’ll meet us on the way. And he might be bringing others.” Bad said cheerily, tucking it away. “Come on, I have an Ender chest. We’ll grab our tools and compasses and have that silly muffinhead back in town for dinner.”

“Before that.” Sapnap said with a grin. Bad’s good mood was infectious. “We have all our tools and he’s starting from scratch. How hard can it be?”

“Oh no.” George said. “You jinxed it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me a lot of tweaking before I was satisfied with the reactions in this. To note (because I know people would ask), I ended up basing the reactions on the fact that this takes place right before Tommy blackmails Dream and the exile, ergo, when his rejection of attachment and vicious villainous actions started to ramp up and destroy any last bit of friendship and goodwill he had. So, reactions in this chapter tended towards angry/wary, but concerned by his sudden apology and disappearance.
> 
> Something Dream didn’t account for.

**Author's Note:**

> Dream: 1000 IQ play, leave with no tools and go fight an Ender dragon
> 
> (I feel the need to clarify, I'm not a Dream apologist. I just think he's an interesting character and liked this idea). Also clarifying the Unreliable Narrator tag, he’s not delusional, but while he’s trying to be better, he does interpret some events through his view and considers other people wrong. He’s working on it.


End file.
